


Like a Fairytale

by Stingray



Category: Chicago Fire
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Conversations, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Engagement, Fluff, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Star Gazing, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-08 13:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14106279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stingray/pseuds/Stingray
Summary: I want my happily ever after. // I want to wake up every morning to someone who cares as much about me as I care about them.





	1. Freezing

Kelly tossed his jacket over a chair the moment he walked into the apartment. He felt cold, not only because the weather was trying to freeze him out, transform him into the pathetic snowflake he was, but there was more to it. That icy scraping feeling every time his heart beat, every time he took a breath, every time he thought about what he couldn't have.

What he couldn't _have_.

That blond hair, those sparkling blue eyes, that soft breath of existence that couldn't have been a coincidence under any circumstances. There was no way that big heart and golden personality were part of any scientific means, it didn't come down to numbers or words or anything from this earth.

 _No_.

 _Not Matthew Casey_.

Matt was the closest fucking thing to a miracle you'd _ever_ lay your eyes upon.

Kelly knew this, knew he shouldn't take any moment for granted. Another completely solid and undeniable fact of life that had become painfully clear to Kelly: Matt would be the fucking _end_ of him.

"Hey." Matt smiled, emerging from his room, "Gabby's out to get groceries and getting takeout for supper."

Kelly stood there, breath stolen as he took in the image of Matt standing there, nothing but a towel around his waist and water droplets still clinging to his chest. Damp hair darker than its usual colour, eyes brighter than ever. "Not hungry." Was the only thing Kelly could mutter, grabbing his jacket and heading to the room Casey and Dawson had been letting him crash in.

There was a knock on his door five minutes later, a soft pause, and then. "You feeling okay?"

Because of _course_. Yes. Matt _would_ check up on him. Because he was an angel, a pure soul that cared too much and wore his heart on his sleeve.

"Sev?" Matt prompted, patiently waiting for a sound. "Can I come in?"

 _No. You can't come in. You can't see me like this, not with the tears streaming down my face. I'm too broken, Matt, I'll take you down with me and you don't deserve that._ Kelly thought to himself.

His actually response, a firm, quiet, "No."

"Sev..?"

Kelly could hear the concern in the man's voice, made him feel like he meant something.

That's the thing that struck him most about Matthew Casey. That man made him feel worthwhile, wanted, protected, cared about in a way that no other human on this earth had managed to do. Nobody had ever cared enough to take Kelly in when he was in a rough spot, offer advice, solicited or not, or give the emotional support Kelly had so lacked before Casey came into his life.

"Severide... What's wrong?"

If Kelly had to guess, Matt's forehead was leaning against the door, a sad expression on his face as he worried about his friend.

"Go spend time with Gabby." There was more spite in Kelly's tone than he'd intended, but he didn't think Matt picked up on it.

Matt frowned at the remark, letting out a soft sigh. As if on cue, he heard the key jingling in the front front door, signalling that his fiancé was home.

" _Please_ tell me if you need anything." Matt breathed out before heading away to help Gabby with the groceries.

Kelly already knew he wouldn't breathe a word.


	2. Swaying

It was early evening when Kelly felt a vibration in his pocket. The man raised an eyebrow at the message on his phone's lock screen, processing the information quickly.

_6:13PM: "Can we meet somewhere?"_

A moment later, his phone dinged again.

_6:13PM: "Need you."_

Kelly texted back as quickly as he could, his fingers tapping a lightning fast response.

_6:13PM: "Come to the boatyard."_   
_6:14PM: "You okay?"_

Kelly was worried when he didn't hear from him again after that message, but he had to assume he was driving. Had to assume something because it wasn't just everyday that Matt sent such a vulnerable message and what if he was in trouble? 

Matt was about as stubbornly independent as they came; it was from all the years of having to fend for himself, no doubt. Asking for help was never a thought in Matthew Casey's mind, so Kelly knew whatever was going on meant _something_. Meant that when Casey knew he needed someone, Kelly was the one he turned to. And in some way, that just floored Kelly. Even if he could never have Matt in the way he wanted, he was an important person in his life, a brother, a best friend. And that felt fucking _good_. He could settle for that. He could live with being Matthew Casey's best friend.

When Matt walked up to the boat Kelly was working on, it wasn't hard to tell he was having a rough go. His eyes were bloodshot, bags under his eyes, and he looked like he'd been crying. It was all Kelly could do not to close the distance between them and hold that man in his arms.

"Hey," Kelly murmured, picking up a rag and trying to clean the oil and grease off his hands.

Matt had a sad look on his face, like a lost puppy without a home. He wearily carried his phone in one hand and a six pack in the other.

"C'mon." Kelly smiled gently, trying to put the man at ease as he motioned for Matt to follow him.

He led Matt to his boat, holding the docking rope steady as Matt jumped in, following him half a beat later. The sat on the bench seat toward the back of the boat and enjoyed each others company while the boat gently rocked side to side.

The water could be heard sloshing against the boats in the harbour as the sun slowly set. It was a serene and quiet little corner of the world that neither took for granted.

"What's wrong?" Kelly asked as Matt handed him a can of beer. There was a lot more behind that question than any other person would realize, but Matt understood.

Matt shrugged though, he knew Kelly wasn't stupid, knew the man could read him better than even his fiancé ever could.

"Talk to me." Kelly urged reaching a hand out to grasp Matt's shoulder for a split second. 

The careful touch wasn't lost on the blonde, and he turned his head towards Kelly. "Everything's so messed up." Matt shook his head, like he was still trying to decipher what everything meant. 

"You had a bad day?" Kelly asked, wondering why Matt was here instead of with Gabby, not that he was complaining.

Matt calmly downed half of his first drink. "You hear those fairy tails growing up... They fall in love, get married, live happily ever after...

It seems like something everyone should have a chance at right?

Not that my life is a fairytale, but I want my happily ever after. I want to wake up every morning to someone who cares as much about me as I care about them. I don't want to just be some kind of fucking doormat that gets walked all over."

"That's what you feel like?" Kelly frowned, surprised at the sudden revelation, "A doormat?"

Matt finished the can of beer, setting the empty can beside his feet. He nodded solemnly as he sighed, "Sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you, I just—..."

"Never apologize for that, Case. I'm always here, you know that."

"Yeah..." Matt mumbled.

"So what're you going to do?" Kelly asked, talk his third sip.

"I have no clue, I don't even want to go home. She's pissed at me because we had a disagreement. It's her way or the highway." He shook his head sadly.

"What was the disagreement about?" Kelly asked softly, not wanting to intrude too much.

"It was about you."

"Me?" Kelly raised his eyebrows, surprised at best.

"She wants you out of the apartment."

"Oh..." Kelly pauses for a moment, "I didn't realize I was a problem, I'll pack my bags as soon as I get back."

"No, you're not going anywhere," Matt shook his head. "You're not a problem at all, she's the one being the problem right now. She thinks that she can just make _all_ the decisions without my say. She doesn't seem to care that I will always have your back, and she thinks that having you around is a nuisance, which it sure the hell _isn't_. Trust me, having you around has been the most enjoyable thing in my life lately. She's making me choose between her and you."

Kelly didn't quite know what to say, he stared at Matt, his gaze soft against the dim light of the sun. "Matt, just make sure, whatever you do, make sure it's what makes you happy. Don't worry about me, don't let Gabby make all of your decisions, just choose your own happiness."


	3. Opening

They'd snuck onto the rooftop of the apartment complex to stare at the few stars they were able to see. Something they'd never done before, because there was no way up short of scaling the building (they got creative; found the top of the fire escape and a 15 foot ladder). 

"I broke up with her, called off the engagement." Matt muttered out of the blue, into the cool quiet air around them. His voice carrying some sort of disdain, but whether it was for Gabby or himself, neither knew.

"Are you okay?" Kelly asked worriedly, knowing how much weight that relationship carried.

"I—... I'm good actually." Matt smiled, watching a shooting star fall in the far distance.

"You are?" Kelly's voice held a great deal of surprise. Matt was never the type to get over breakups easily, not when every personal connection he had in his life meant more than anything else. Matthew Casey valued people, that was one of his complexes. One of the hardest and simultaneously easiest things to understand about him.

"It was never meant to be." Matt never could figure out what he'd seen in Gabby, what had made him jump in with both feet, even when everything had been going so downhill so fast.

"Never seemed like it." Kelly shrugged, agreeing. "You seem happier now."

A sudden calm, happy wave came over Matt, "I think that's because I'm falling for someone else."

Kelly turned to see Matt grinning like an absolute idiot. "You are?"

"I've known them forever, and maybe we're just friends but maybe we could be something more. I just don't want to risk it and find out it ruined our friendship, you know?" Matt shared his thoughts in a way that was vulnerable and loose, in a way that Kelly wouldn't have normally expected.

"If you two are really that close, just tell this person how you feel." Kelly suggested, his heart beating twice as fast as normal because maybe Matt was talking about him. Obviously he wasn't, because that wouldn't make sense and Matt was about as straight as they come, but there was that fraction of a chance that Kelly couldn't help but get lost in.

Matt turned to him, eyes sparkling under the dim light of the city. "I just wish I could know for sure if they like me back."

It was Kelly's turn to smile, a knowing smile because he could read Matt. "Trust me, they like you back."


	4. Warping

"You know he doesn't want you here anymore."

Kelly just about choked on his damn cereal. "What?" He asked in blatant confusion, wondering where this was coming from, not even sure if he wanted to know.

"Matt." Gabby spoke easily, obviously, like Kelly should've known all this already. "He doesn't want you being here."

"He said that?" Kelly asked, his heart hurting and his head spinning because that's not what Matt had said to him on the boat or rooftop. Kelly should've known it was too good to be true, that no one as amazing as Matt would ever care about him.

At just that moment, Matt, who was busy packing, moved to stand in the doorway of his bedroom, looking toward the kitchen to see if he heard what he thought he heard. Kelly seen his form appear in the corner of his eye but didn't say anything, didn't acknowledge him. Because Dawson's back was to the blonde and she had no idea Matt was even within earshot.

"Damn right he said that." Gabby spat bitterly, her face resembling an angry swamp monster.. "You can't even get on your own feet. He has no respect for you, he doesn't care about you. He's just letting you stay here out of obligation, you're not wanted."

"That's enough, Gabby." Matt ordered, striding across the room. "Stop being such a rude person, the world has enough of those." Matt shook his head disappointedly. "As for you, Severide, come with me." The blonde motioned for him to join him.

Kelly set down his bowl without a second thought and after grabbing his jacket, followed Matt out of the apartment.

"What the hell was that and where are we going?" Severide wondered aloud.

Matt chuckled, "All in due time."

Matt took Kelly to a small little café tucked into a little street. He told Kelly to find a table while he got them some coffee, and soon returned with a steaming cup for both of them.

"You going to tell me what's up?" Kelly asked amusedly, an eyebrow raised as looked at Matt. That twinkle in his eyes, that grin on his face.

"First of all, you know I never said any of that stuff to Gabby right?"

Kelly shrugged, "Wouldn't blame you if you did," he murmured sheepishly.

"Sev, you know me. You know I would never say that stuff about you right?" Matt frowned, gently bumping their knees together under the table.

"Yeah." Kelly nodded with a small smile.

"Good." Matt stirred the hot liquid in his mug. "Seeing how Gabby's been treating you lately has helped me learn a couple of things..."

"It did?" Kelly spoke interestedly.

Matt nodded, "Taught me what she's really like. Ruthless, conniving, entitled..." He shrugged, deep in thought. He suddenly perked up, peering up at Kelly, big blue eyes full of wonder. "Also made me realize some things about you."

Kelly raised an eyebrow, "Me?"

"Yeah." Matt smiled genuinely. "It made me so so angry, seeing her try to throw you away like that. You're so so special to me and she couldn't see it. And maybe I couldn't see it either, until she tried to put you out." Matt paused for a moment, "I hate seeing you get hurt, Kelly. You're the most important person in my life and I care about you so much."

He pulled a wad of folded paper from his pocked, unfolding the three pages, smoothing them out, and pushing them in front of Kelly. "I've spent the last couple days trying to think of the right way to ask you this, but it never seems... right... Basically, Gabby wants to keep the apartment, which means I'm getting a new place, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me. We can be roomies like the good old days."

"Yeah sure," Kelly nodded without a second thought, pulling the three papers in front of himself to examine them more closely. Each paper showed one listing. All the apartments were spacious but not too big, nice but not too extravagant... but there was one thing amiss.

"Uhhh.... Case?" Kelly mumbled softly.

"Yeah?" Matt smiled softly as the look of realization passed over Kelly's face.

"You realize these are all  _one_ bedroom apartments? With no pull out couches or anything?"

Matt laughed quietly, "Yeah I have noticed,"

"What? Wait so— ...Does this mean...?" Kelly tried his best not to get his hopes up, but it was hard when Matt was laying this out for him so obviously.

"It does." Matt nodded, a happy expression on his face, "Unless you want your own room, that's totally fine."

Kelly grinned happily, stomach exploding in bursts of butterflies. "You sure this is what you want?"

"I'm 100% sure... I totally understand if this isn't something you're interes—"

"Shh, Matt." Kelly interrupted, "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say those things?"

"Too long." Matt smiled, "I don't know how I didn't see what was right in front of me... But I plan on making it up to you. Starting with finding us a place to live and ending with my home cooked lasagna tonight for supper."

Kelly couldn't stop grinning all throughout their coffee date, during their walk to have a look at the apartment, and all the way home that evening. They already put a down payment on the place and were moving in the next day.


	5. Mending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we all need this after FrankieFandom's beautifully written and utterly heartbreaking 'Untitled'. ;) Enjoy, my loves!

There was a knock on the door, but the two of them were much too preoccupied to care. Except, the knocking continued, and continued, _and_ _continued_.

"Mmm," Matt groaned around another deep kiss, "We gotta get... get... th'door."

"Whoever it is can come back another time." Kelly grunted pushing his body against Matt's own flesh.

Suddenly Matt flipped them both, pinning Kelly's hands above his head. "You can keep being naughty in a second," Matt laughed as he got up from the bed, leaving Kelly to let out a frustrating groan behind him.

When Matt opened the door, he was stunned to see Gabby there, holding a box in front of him. "These were in the closet, thought you'd want them." She spoke flirtatiously.

"Thanks." He murmured, taking the box from her.

They stood still for a moment, "Listen Matt, I know things were a little rocky between us before but I'm ready to give it another try if you are."

Matt simply shook his head, "Sorry but I've moved on."

"What? With who?" Gabby asked in surprise, never expecting Matt to find anyone to replace her.

"Does it matter?" Matt asked curiously, watching the jealousy flare up in Gabby's eyes.

"She won't love you as much as I do." She scoffed, a disbelieving.

"I've never felt more loved actually," Matt shook his head, adoring twinkle in his eye as he thought about the man in his bed.

"That's not possible," Gabby frowned, "I gave you all the love you needed."

"I gave you my heart and you threw it in the trash, you never cared about my feelings," Matt spoke earnestly. "Took me a long time to let someone in after everything you did to me,"

"Yeah right," She said incredulously, "I see you're playing hard to get. I can play that game."

"I'm in a new relationship, maybe you should move on too, Dawson." He shrugged, "See ya 'round."

With that, Matt shut the door, turning around and going to join his boyfriend in their bed once again.

He climbed back under the covers, the cold winter air urging him closer to Kelly's toasty body. "Who was it?" He asked softly, peppering kisses into Matt's hair.

"Gabby." Matt mumbled sleepily. 

He felt Kelly's body stiffen beside him, "What'd she want this time?" He muttered in a husky voice; his distaste for that woman only grew as Matt had confided more of their past relationship to him.

"Bring another box of stuff by," Matt shrugged, "Fifth one in the past two months."

"I noticed the last three boxes she gave you are still stacked by the door. You plan on opening them?"

"No," Matt shook his head. "I'm sure they're just full of her lingerie and love letters like the first couple, plus, there's something to be said about a fresh start... And I kinda want to leave the past behind this time."

"Sounds good," Kelly smiled happily, leaving a long kiss on Matt's forehead.

A twinkle swung into Matt's eye as a smirk tugged at his lips, "Want to help me burn everything?"

"Yes." Kelly laughed in amusement, "Sounds like a great way to release your bottled up teen breakup angst."

Matt playfully hit Kelly's shoulder, rolling them around and pulling Kelly close as their lips united. A few minutes later, he pulled back with an unsure expression on his face. "I don't need the past, right?"

"No, Matthew" Kelly grinned adoringly. "You don't. Not when we have our happily ever after in front of us."

 


End file.
